Ever wonder why you go to practice and the back row is filled with advanced students, leaving the beginner and intermediate students to take up front spots? Chances are those advanced students picked those favorite poles when they were beginners!
A 2017 study by Gilles Clement and Angie Bukley published in the Journal of Human Psychology found that attachment to specific classroom territories starts as soon as the second day of a class. Light and noise levels and vantage points are often contributing factors in how a student picks their spot, but overall comfort level is key.
And where are new students who are stepping out of their comfort zones bound to be the most comfortable? Usually in a spot where they can feel inconspicuous. The problem with this is that students in the back tend to be less engaged and more distracted than the students up front (Shernoff et al., 2017).
When we go to the same place for each class we find comfort because we have that control over our environment, so that lessens our anxiety. However, if we arrive late for class or if a new person takes our preferred spot, that causes stress within us. I have personally spent 50 minutes feeling angry at someone I didn’t even know who certainly didn’t know she was taking my spot!
The front center is known as the “power seat” in any classroom or any boardroom. Think of Leonardo Di Vinci’s painting of The Last Supper. Do we focus on the men at the ends of the table, or do our eyes go to the middle? This is where our eyes naturally go. So while it makes sense that our instructors take the power spot for our classes, it also makes sense why that’s the last spot to fill in any practice.
In the Clement and Bukley study it was noted that the strongest graduate students eventually found their way to the front and middle positions. These spots are chosen by students who possess confidence.
We are all working on our confidence at Aerial Dance. A great step we can take as we do that is to grab a front or middle pole, and step out of our comfort zones and into power positions!
